The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) recently called upon German Chancellor Angela Merkel to hold firm in her resolve to have the G8 commit to specific measures to combat global climate change. According to the organization, the G8 Heads of State and Government meet in Heiligendamn, Germany, for their annual summit later this week.

"It is crucial for the G8 leaders to provide clear direction, setting a long-term target as well as making the commitment to negotiate legally binding emission reduction targets for the period after 2012," says Steve Sawyer, GWEC's secretary general. "These negotiations must begin this year and conclude no later than 2009."

The Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) recently published "Fourth Assessment Report" confirmed the need to deploy existing renewable energy technologies at a large scale in order to combat danger climate change. As a leading source of clean energy, wind power is in a prime position to deliver cuts in carbon dioxide emissions, GWEC says.

"The time between now and 2020 is the critical period when global emissions must peak and then begin to decline," comments Herrmann Albers, president of the German Bundesverband WindEnergie. "Wind energy can and must play a major role in achieving the goal of keeping global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius, and the sector stands ready to do its part."

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